The Last Day of the Season
by Luv Zell Dincht
Summary: A story about Hinata, a kunoichi who has a desperate love for Naruto, a young shinobi boy. When walking around Konoha one morning, she finds a fortune that predicts on the last day of the current season, her heart's desire will be hers. Will it come true?
1. Chapter 1 The Fortune

The Last Day of the Season...

Chapter One: The Fortune

_First day of Winter...December 22nd,_

Lavender eyes opened slowly as light shone upon them through the window. They blinked the tiredness away from themselves as a yawn escaped from a mouth opened wide. Navy hair fell forward loosely and momentarily obsercured the view of the young kunoichi as she stood up from her bed and stretched her arms and other limbs. With the new morning, came a cool and crisp air, flowing through the ajar window, the same one that provided the young girl with sunshine. Dragging her feet slightly across the smooth wooden floors, she made her way to the window and shut it tightly. Once that was done, she rubbed her eyes and slowly started to walk towards the shower room where she would proceed to get ready for the long day ahead.

About an hour later, the same young female ninja emerged from the showers, her usual attire on that consisted of a white jacket that was always zipped up as far as it could go, a spikey fur rested at the very ends of it, the hood was never used. The Konoha ninja band rested loosely around her neck, her hair cut in a duck style with two bangs hanging down in the front, not quite reaching her shoulders. She bore navy shorts that ran well above her ankles, but below the knees and sported the normal navy ninja shoes. On her right leg, she kept her pack that contained kunai, shuriken and other things that may come in handy on missions. She sighed greatly and picked up a small, velvety, book that had a elaborately decorated pen attached to the binding. She sat at her desk and pulled out the pen, opening the little book to a blank, lined page. The lavender-eyed ninja let her pen hover over the page, but the day had just started, so nothing was to be written yet. Instead, she sufficced to write the date and leave it at that. A soft knock came to the wooden door that kept her in her room.

The young girl's head perked up and she looked to the door with a bit of a surprised expression. Closing the small book that seemed to be her diary, she stood from the desk and walked over to the door. Letting her hand hover over the knob lightly before finally opening it slowly, peeking through the crack to see who had come to her room. She spotted another lavender-eyed ninja, except this one was a male and he was about a year older than that of her, thirteen to her twelve. His hair was long and had to long strands in the front that went past his shoulders. His forehead protector, was indeed worn around his forehead and he wore a jacket that was white, as well as navy shorts. His arms and legs bore bandages and he too sported the ninja shoes. He did not seem to smile or show any emotion beside from a seriousness that made the young kunoichi uncomfortable to be in his gaze. Putting one hand to his hip, he looked at her slowly with his scanning eyes.

"Hinata, you are up very early today." he said to the young girl, his voice deep and somewhat cold. His eyes moved on to look over her room, in case something was different, but when spotting nothing, he returned his gaze back to her.

The lavender-eyed girl, whose name we now know to be Hinata, nodded slightly and brought her gaze to the floor, trying to avoid his piercing one. "Yes Neji...I-I thought that in order to extend my training time, I-I should start waking up a bit ear-earlier..." Hinata told him, somewhat fidgeting with her hands as she did often when she was nervous. Truthfully, she only wanted to end the sessions a bit earlier so she could see a certain someone...

"I see..." the young shinobi, who is called Neji, said and then folded his arms to his chest. "Well, I am sorry to disappoint you Hinata, but you see I am in no condition to help you improve yourself today, I have come down with a virus and I actually came to inform you of this before." he told her and then watched her actions with a bit of interest.

The navy-haired girl looked up to him almost excitedly and then put her head into a bow. "It is not a problem Neji, I suppose I will go around the village and perhaps train with Kiba and Shino..." she said with a low voice, knowing that in her mind, she would probably not do anything of the sort.

Neji did not say anything, he merely put up his hand in a farewell to her and then walked away silently, the boards under him making no sound. The kunoichi remained stationary for a few moments and then walked off after him, heading towards the entrance and exit of the Hyuuga mansion. Opening the door as lightly as she could, as if trying not to disturb anyone, she walked outside and into the practically empty streets of Konoha. Smiling slightly, she put her hands in her coat pockets and strolled along aimlessly, just trying to pass sometime. On her way, she passed by a little shop that she had never noticed before. It seemed to hold fortunes and even though Hinata was not too into those kind of things, her curiousity pushed her towards it. Approaching the stand, she looked to a shabby older woman who didn't look to friendly.

"Young lady...Would you like to purchase a fortune? Or perhaps...Since it is your first time here, I will provide one for you free of charge..." the older woman said towards the slightly startled kunoichi. Her voice was raspy and her hands scarred, she ran one over some scrolls that lay next to her on the ground. Her face was hidden beneath the hood of an indigo cloak, all that could be seen were strands of her long black hair. Perhaps it was due to the imagination, but her eyes seemed to have a silverish glow to them that illuminated even in the darkness of the hood.

A bit sceptacle at first, the young Hyuuga heiress was tempted to politely decline, but something was ever urging her to accept the offer. She relaxed herself and gave a small smile. "Please, that would be lovely ma'am." she said in a quiet voice, bowing her head to the seemingly older woman.

The older woman smirked under the cover of her cloak. "Wonderful..." the lady said and then ran her hand over a stack of the fortunes as if determining something. A few moments passed and then she finally snatched one up, holding it under her face. "This one seems to suit you my dear..." she said and then outstretched her hand to offer the scroll to Hinata. She felt her cloak slipping and pulled the indigo material tightly to cover her still.

The lavender-eyed girl looked to the tightly wrapped scroll with a wary eye, but accepted it, taking it gently from the woman. She slowly unraveled it and read its contents;

_By the end of the season that you are currently in, your heart's most desired desire will come to be. If it is love that your heart most desires, the chance of this happening is almost guarenteed..._

It was short and simple, but Hinata felt her cheeks get hot and a small flutter come to her chest. _"Could it mean...Naruto? I-It can't be...These things do not really predict the future! Or do they...?"_ the young kunoichi thought to herself, her breath practically caught in her chest as she struggled with some conflicting thoughts and beliefs. She rolled up the scroll and then looked to the woman again, who was watching her intently with a small smirk playing across her lips. Hinata's breathing was regulating again and she managed to speak. "I-I thank you for the fortune...Good day to you then." the Hyuuga girl said and bowed her head again, starting to leave the stand.

"Wait, if you are unsatisfied and that fortune doesn't come true for you...Come look for me...Though I am sure you won't be disappointed...I've never had an unsatisfied customer yet..." the woman said and waited until Hinata turned around to pull down her cloak's hood to reveal her facial features. She was actually quite young looking, about in her twenties one would guess. She hand long, flowing, jet black hair that fell in strands loosely over her shoulder and down to her waist about. Her eyes were indeed silver in color and had a strange glow to them. All in all, she was attractive in the least and the young Hyuuga girl was quite surprised as she gave off the impression of being an older woman. The woman gave her a kind smile with her eyes closed and then waved a hand towards her. "Good day to you too then..." she said in a soft voice, much unlike the raspy one she sported earlier.

Hinata was surprised. _"She can't be serious can she? These things can't come true...They are just made up fortunes for people to buy...Aren't they?"_ she thought to herself perplexed. She couldn't focus, it was too early for this stress on her mind. She managed to bring herself to a nod and then pocketed the scroll, walking once again without a purpose in the still Konoha streets. The woman watched her walk away until she turned a corner and then brought her hood back up to conceal her identity once again. "That young kunoichi has a good thing in her future..." she said and smirked, fingering some of the scrolls beside her absentmindedly. It would be hours later until Hinata would bring herself to focus again, and it was late in the night.

The young Hyuuga heiress sat at her desk, the yellow book sprawled out in front of her, her pen to the paper, writing neatly, but quickly.

_December 22nd, _

_I cannot believe what has happened today. This morning, I decided to awake early as to have more time later on to do other things than train. Instead, Neji, who is hardly ill, happened to come down with a virus. Training was not to be done today, so I went on a stroll throughout early morning Konoha. While walking, I came upon a stand that curiously piqued my interest. Approaching it for a closer look, I found some scrolls with fortunes written upon them. What appeared to be an older woman cloaked in disguise sat on the ground behind the stand, next to a large stack of fortunes. She offered me a free scroll, so I accepted the offer and what I read shocked me a bit. It told me that I would have my heart's desire by the end of the season, which is a long time away, as Winter has just begun. Surely, I knew that this could not be fact, pieces of parchment cannot predict someone's next events. She assured me though, that it would come true, and if it didn't, I should come and find her. After saying that, she revealed to me her identity, and she was quite beautiful and young despite my assumptions of her being an older lady. Perplexed and confused, as I still partially am, I left there and proceeded with a otherwise uneventful day. I do hope though, that this fortune will indeed come true...My heart's desire is...__him_

_Goodnight,_

_Hyuuga Hinata _

Hinata looked over her work and then smiled somewhat, yawning tiredly and then closing the little yellow diary, heading over to her bed and falling to sleep peacefully...


	2. Chapter 2 'Hanging Out'

Chapter Two: 'Hanging Out'

_The Second Day of Winter...December 23rd,_

It was around nine in the morning the next day in Konoha and the Hyuuga heiress was still asleep in her bed, a strange, but not unusual dream running through her mind...

_"Of course Naruto! I-I would love to be your wife..." Hinata said with tears streaming from her lavender eyes and staining her cheeks. She could feel her heart practically pounding out of her chest and her stomach was feeling like it was doing cartwheel excitedly. For some reason, her she also felt light-headed, as if she would lose conciousness at any moment. First, a ring was placed gently on her finger and then powerful arms wrapped around her waist and twirled her in a circle, her feet off the ground for a moment before she felt a pair of soft lips come against her own. Closing her eyes and enjoying the time together, a ring was heard and both of them looked to the door. The mystery man had a smile to his face and put her back on the ground. _

_"I'll return my love..." he told her, his voice cheerful and kind. He walked to the door and opened it just a crack, so Hinata could not see the person on the other side. He turned his head to her and smiled before stepping out of the door. A while passed and he did not return inside._

_Finally becoming a bit concerned, the kunoichi went to the door and opened it wide with a soft smile. "My love, who is it out-" she started to speak, but her words were caught, as was her breath. A crushing weight came upon her chest as she beheld the sight in front of her, her mind was still trying to grip the events and confusion, followed by denial came upon her. _

_There, standing in the doorway seconds before, was her lover, the man she was to marry, in the arms with another woman, one that she thought was a thing of his past, but proved to still be apart of his life now. He had his lips to hers and it seemed that they were familiar with this and that nothing was wrong with their actions. Now they stood shocked and looking to the navy haired girl, one bore a look of shame and the other a look of disbelief. She could feel the tears pulling at the corner of her eyes, this time, they were not happy tears, they were that of sadness and a broken heart. She started to back away into the house again, but felt a hand wrap around her waist and prevent her from moving._

_"Hinata...I-I don't know what to tell you..." he said, a sad look on his face, he tried to pull her back into an embrace, but felt her resist him. He started to tear also, but he knew what his heart truely desired, and that was not exactly her. _

_The kunoichi found herself unable to speak, she merely removed the ring slowly from her finger and looked to it for a moment before mumbling, "...But I love you...With all my heart, for so long..." She could feel another attempt to hug her coming on, but she threw the ring on the ground in front of his feet and ran into the house, breaking down on the floor. _Suddenly, she could feel reality grip her, as the dream was coming to an end...

Snapping awake, the Hyuuga girl sat up in her bed, a cold sweat running over her face and neck and her breathing was actually panting, as if she had run a marathon. Taking her sleeve, she wiped the droplets from her head and anywhere else she was perspiring and removed the covers from her body, putting her feet on the ground and standing up. She put her face in her hands and felt herself cry a bit from the emotional dream that she seemed to have seen before. A few moments of that and she rubbed her eyes that were now red and somewhat puffy, walking over towards the clock in her room and checking the time.

_"It's nine already!?"_ she thought to herself in a bit of a panic. She had slept very late today and she knew that Neji would not be pleased, assuming that he felt any better. Sure enough, a knock came to her room's door and she looked over to it with a look of reluctancy. Sighing, the kunoichi walked over to the door and opened it for Neji to come inside and look at her sorry state.

The male shinobi studied her for a moment and then sighed. "Are you feeling alright? You haven't caught my illness have you?" he asked her in a semi-concerned tone of voice. He noticed her lavender eyes a little red and puffy, as if she had been crying previously. He wondered if it was physical problems or emotional that were bothering her.

Hinata looked up to him and shook her head. "I-I'm fine, I just overslept, I am sorry. I will get ready right away and then I we can start training." she told him, her voice shakey and she started to go over to the bathroom. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked at it confused, biting her lip as it also reminded her of the dream she had just finished having.

"No training today Hinata, you are obviously in some sort of distress and you need some time to sort things out." the lavender eyed male told her and then pat her shoulder softly before leaving the room.

Perplexed, but grateful at his actions, Hinata proceeded to get ready and then go out. This time, she really intended to see her teamates today, even if not to train. Out the door of the Hyuuga mansion she went and strolled the streets. Not too far along, her mind wandered to the stand she had found the past morning. About to go and search for it again and speak to the young lady in charge of it, she heard her name being called.

"Oi! Hinata!" came a loud voice from somewhere around her location. She turned her head to look around to her two squad members. She smiled and walked over to them.

One of them, the one that had called her, had a grin to his face. He wore a shade of blue coat that bore a spiked fur at the hood and the cuffs of the sleeves. He bore navy shorts, as most of them did, and the usual ninja footwear. Red markings were on both of his cheeks as the Inuzuka clan bore and he had short, spikey brown hair. His forehead protecter was worn around his forehead as intended to be. With him, was a loyal, small and quite cute, white dog who had black ears. He followed him everywhere and they were the best of friends and battle partners. The young shinobi's name was Inuzuka Kiba and his canine companion was named Akamaru.

The other member had his hands in his pockets and merely offered a nod towards the female companion. He had brown hair that spiked up and wore sunglasses to conceal his eyes. His coat was a faded green color and his collar was long and covered the lower half of his face, his mouth was not seen often. He also wore the navy shorts and ninja shoes, his forehead protector around his head. A child of the Aburame clan, his name was Aburame Shino and he used bugs to attack and defend himself. They were his speacialty.

"Good morning Kiba, Shino." Hinata said and smiled, bowing her head slightly to them. Her mind was now off the woman and her stand, she was pretty thankful for the distraction from her troubling thoughts.

"Hey, we're glad you are here! We were going to do some training, unfortunately, since you were so late, we invited that _Naruto_ to subsitute for you, but now you are here!" Kiba said and gave another happy grin, the small dog on his head barking cheerfully as well. He put his hands in his pockets and looked to Hinata for a reaction.

The navy haired girl blushed slightly and put her index fingers together as she often did when _he_ was mentioned or around. Her mind was racing, as was her heart, and she looked at the ground. "N-Naruto is coming here? Wh-When?" she asked Kiba with a small smile and look of interest.

The dog-like boy frowned and then Shino finally spoke in a deep and low voice. "Now." he said simply and they all looked around to someone coming towards them.

"I'm here!!!" came a loud voice closing in on them. Kiba scowled and Akamaru made a low growl, Shino sported no expression, but Hinata was estactic and a bit fidgety at the same time.

The young aspiring shinobi that was coming towards them had a big dream and a big secret. He wanted nothing more than to become the greatest Hokage ever, and he was willing to do almost anything to achieve his goal. Growing up alone and hated by the older members of the village, he harbored the nine-tailed fox inside of him, or Kyuubi as he was reffered to. Getting past this, he still fights for his recognition from others and will not be underestimated or ignored. His strength and hardships are inspiring to others and he has managed to make a lot of people become better and lead good lives. He has blonde hair that spikes upwards and he bears his Konoha ninja band around his forehead proudly. He wears a orange and navy jacket and orange pants, while sporting the ninja footwear. Whisker-like markings are upon his face and his blue eyes are always cheerful and his grin quite fox-like. His name is Uzumaki Naruto.

The fox boy stopped in front of the three squad members and put his hands on his knees, panting from all the running. "...Sorry...I'm...late..." he said inbetween breaths. He looked up at them and then his gaze hovered over the Hyuuga heiress. A grin came to his face and he stood up and put a hand behind his head of spikey blonde hair. "Hey Hinata, good mornin'!" he said happily, ignoring the other two there.

Hinata poked her two index fingers together and felt the red blush on her cheeks increase as they grew warmer. She looked at him and admired him somewhat before replying. "Go-Go-Good morning Naruto...H-How are you?" she managed to get out and then smiled, a little embarrassed to be talking to him, but she couldn't be more content.

Kiba, Akamaru and Shino watched intently. They exchanged glances and then Kiba grinned, but Shino remained with his same expression. The Inuzuka boy looked back to the two speaking with a huffy look to his face as Akamaru made a whining sound.

Naruto smiled a little admirably at the navy haired kunoichi. "I'm fine, thanks for asking. Well, I guess we should get to training then!" he said loudly and put a fist in the air with excitement.

Kiba made a face and then shook his head. "Sorry ramen breath, you were late and I don't feel like training much anymore." he said and the white dog perched upon his head barked in agreement. He started to walk away from them and put a hand up as he walked. "See ya!" he called back as he turned a corner and was out of sight.

Naruto looked to Shino and Hinata. "I guess it's just us then?" he said with a grin and then went inbetween them, putting his arms around their shoulders. The lavender-eyed girl blushed deeply, but the Aburame boy shook his head and removed the arm from his shoulders.

"I'm with Kiba...Good bye Hinata, Naruto." he said with a deep and emotionless voice, walking away from them and turning an opposite corner from the direction Kiba had left in.

Naruto frowned and scowled. "Hey! Come on now!" he yelled after them and then turned back to Hinata who was still under his arm. "Eh, I guess I don't feel like training much either, why don't we just hang out?" he asked her with a bright smile. He removed his arm from around her shoulders and put both of his hands behind his head as he looked at her kindly.

Hinata felt her face burn up and then she looked away from him nervously. _"Sh-Should I hang out with Naruto? Maybe...What if I do something wrong or say something wrong and then he won't like me and then...Stop it Hinata! Just say yes..."_ she thought to herself and then finally looked back up to him.

"I-I would like that very much N-Naruto." the Hyuuga heiress said and smiled to him, she could feel her nerves acting up again, but tried her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach and the pounding of her heart in her chest.

Naruto grinned. "Alright! Let's go eat some ramen, I'm starving..." he said and smiled to her cheerfully, waiting for her to start walking.

They headed side by side in the direction of the ramen shop quietly. Hinata would look over to the blonde haired shinobi occasionally which would result in him smiling to her, her blushing and looking away. This process would repeat until someone called to them from behind.

"Naruto!!! Naruto!!!" the voice came, both of the ninja turned around to see what was coming up behind them. Naruto smiled, while Hinata looked a bit disappointed.

Approaching them was a young kunoichi. She had short pink hair and used her forehead protecter as a sort of headband. Her dress was red and had white strips here and there and a white circle at the end. She wore black leggings and had light green eyes. Known for her incredible chakra control, she was not very good at combat and felt useless to her fellow squad members. Currently training under the Godaime to become a medical ninja, she has high hopes to become something better for everyone. Unfortunately, her lost comrade and love, one of the last Uchihas, stays in her mind and may distract her, but it also pushes her to do better. Naruto also admires her and has an infatuation with the young girl. Her name is Haruno Sakura.

"Hey Sakura, what's up?" Naruto asked with a grin, his hands behind his head. He seemed very happy to see her.

"H-Hello Sakura..." Hinata mumbled to her with a small smile. She didn't really expect this, or want this to happen, she knew how Naruto felt around Sakura and it made her feel even more less likely to have a chance with him. She felt like she had to compete for his feelings with her around.

"Hey Hinata." Sakura said kindly with a smile before turning back to Naruto with a frown and her hands on her hips. "Naruto! We have a mission today! Surprisingly, you're more late than Kakashi-sensei today! Sorry Hinata, but I have to take this baka away for a while!" the pink haired girl yelled and grabbed Naruto's wrist and dragged him off.

"H-Hey! Bye Hinata! We should do this again some time!" the blue-eyed boy yelled as he and Sakura turned a corner and out of sight.

Hinata watched them and sighed deeply. _"Naruto..."_ she thought to herself sadly and ended up going to the ramen place alone.

Later on at night in the comfort of her own room, Hinata sat once again at her desk and was starting to write in her diary as she did every night...

_December 23rd,_

_I woke up late today...I overslept, I think it was because of that nightmare I was having...You know, the one I've had before, the marrige preposal, then the opening the door to __him__ kissing __her__...I really don't enjoy that dream. On the plus side though, Neji excused me from training, so I got to go out into Konoha. I ran into Kiba and Shino, both of them were going to train and they invited Naruto! When he finally arrived, late apparantly, Kiba and Shino did not feel like training anymore so they left us alone. Naruto suggested we go and 'hang out'. We were headed to the ramen place when Sakura came and reminded Naruto that they had a mission to go on...So he had to leave, but he said that we should do it again some time! I wonder though, he never forgets his missions...Why was today different? I shouldn't think too much into it. _

_Goodnight, _

_Hyuuga Hinata_

Hinata closed her soft diary and looked at it a moment with a smile before heading to sleep for the night.


	3. Chapter 3 An Invite

Chapter 3: An Invite

_Third Day of Winter...December 24th, Christmas Eve_

Instead of waking up on her own this time, the young navy haired kunoichi was aroused by sharp knocks on her door that came in rapid succession. She sat up hurriedly and looked to the clock with tired eyes. It only read about 5:15 AM and she groaned unhappily. Removing the covers from herself and dragging her feet to the door, she opened it to find Neji. She brought a hand to cover her mouth as she yawned widely.

"...Good mornin Neji..." she said to him, her eyes drooping slightly from awaking so early. She was curious to why Neji was waking her up so early and why he was so eager to speak to her.

The Hyuuga shinobi had a sealed parchment in his hand and let himself into her room. He turned to her, his arm outstretched, and smiled slightly. "This came for you last night. I did not read it, but it is not often you get letters." he told her and sat at her desk where the little velvet yellow diary sat.

Hinata eyed the enveloped letter warily, not sure if she wanted to read it or not. Curious, she took it and carefully removed the seal, taking out the parchment inside and reading it. It was elaborately decorated and written in large, neat letters. Even more curious, she read the cover which said;

_"Merry Christmas."_

It was simple, but the way it was designed looked so colorful and beautiful for such a small message. Glancing at the lavender-eyed boy who was watching her with interest, she proceeded to open the card and read the contents inside.

_"Dear Hyuuga Hinata, _

_You are cordially invited to attend a Christmas party that is to be held tomorrow at the household of Yamanaka Ino. There will be refreshments, food, party favors, and perhaps music depending on how the parents feel. Games also may be included in the party. We hope that you are able to come, RSVP is not needed, but feel free to do so. ONE guest per person may accompany you to the celebration. See you there and Merry Christmas._

_Sincerely, _

_Yamanaka Ino"_

It had really slipped Hinata's mind that Christmas was the following day and she felt herself blush slightly at her thoughts. _"I wonder if Naruto was invited..."_ she thought and then looked to Neji who had his cheek rested on his palm. He met her gaze and smiled.

"So, what was it about?" he asked her with a curious tone of voice. He stood from his seat at her desk and folded his arms to his chest.

"I-It's an invite to a Christmas party..." Hinata replied and then looked away from him, she wondered why Neji was not invited.

Neji nodded. "I see, well, I assume that you are going?" he asked her and started for the door.

"...Yes." Hinata answered and watched him as he smiled and then left the room without another word. She frowned a bit, she thought he would have some reaction to the idea of her being invited to something that she wasn't. Apparantly, he didn't care much. She placed the invite on her the desk while she got ready for the day. After she was done, she pocketed the invitation.

Leaving the house with a content look on her face, she headed towards the outskirts of the village of Konoha, where she usually found herself alone and without anyone. It was a place where sometimes she collected her thoughts, or just went to relax. To her surprise though, she found someone else already occuping the space. Being careful, she inched foreward to take a look at who was there. Another surprise for her, it was Naruto.

He was laying down in the grass, hands under his head and he seemed to be taking a small nap. Seeing no harm in walking over, the kunoichi sat in the grass as well, keeping a pretty wide space between them. She watched him with a small smile and a light pinkness to her cheeks. He looked so at peace and adorable when he was asleep and the light breeze that ruffled his hair made Hinata shy up a bit more than she already was.

Unfortunately, a sneeze came out of Hinata and she looked quickly to Naruto who stirred and opened a drooping blue eye. He sat up and stretched his arms out, yawning widely. His eyes looked around to see Hinata nervously sitting next to him. A smile played across his face. "Hey..." he said quietly and pushed over to close some of the gap between them. "What're you doing here?" he asked, yawning again.

The lavender-eyed girl poked her index fingers together her cheeks turning a rosy color. "I-I come here sometimes to be a-alone. Sorry for waking you N-Naruto..." she mumbled and looked at the ground.

Naruto smiled. "No, no, I'm glad you did...I slept here overnight it's a wonder nothing happened to me." he said and grinned to her. He then cocked his head to the side and looked to her. "How come you need to be alone Hinata? Your mansion is huge I can't imagine that you get no privacy there." he asked her curiously.

Hinata smiled. "W-Well, it is large indeed, but it isn't as peaceful as here...And this place is not as confined and, well...I really don't know how else to explain it..." she said and folded her hands together on her lap, still avoiding Naruto's gaze.

"Oh, it's okay, I get it Hinata. So...What did you come out here to think about?" the blue-eyed shinobi asked her innocently. He brought himself to lay down again to look at her face which was down.

She blushed. _"You..."_ she thought to herself, but knew that she could not possibly tell him that. Instead, she reached her hand into her pocket and pulled out the invitation that was sent to her by Ino. "A-Actually Naruto, I-I got this invitation to a Christmas party. Were you invited?" she asked him while handing the envelope to him.

He looked at it for a moment and then took it, opening the card and reading its contents quickly. "Ack, I didn't get this...Figures, why would Ino invite me to her party?" he scowled and then his expression grew a little sad as he handed her back the invitation.

Hinata took it and returned it to her pocket. She watched him as he sighed and started to play with a small blade of grass. _"Oh...Naruto wasn't invited...That is terrible, I really wanted to see him there too, and he looks like he really wants to go...Wait, I can bring one guest with me! I should bring Naruto! But what if he thinks I'm trying to ask him on a date or something? Or what if he rejects the offer...? Well, I should try, he looks so upset..."_ she thought to herself and then finally decided on what she was doing.

She looked at Naruto with a smile and he returned it. "N-Naruto, I-I can bring a guest with me to the party and I was w-wondering if y-you would like to accompany m-me there...?" she asked him, her face a light red color, she could feel her neck becoming hot and she poked her index fingers together.

Naruto looked surprised. "Are you sure? Why would you want to waste your guest spot on me? You should bring someone else..." he said and sighed a bit, but gave her a reasurring smile to show that he was okay with it.

Hinata shook her head and smiled kindly. "N-No, I would like it very much if you came with me..." she said and tried to avert her gaze from meeting his, afraid she might faint or say something involuntarily.

Naruto's face lit up and he grinned brightly. "Thanks Hinata! I can't wait to go! Whoo ho! Party!" he yelled and brought a fist up in the air. He stood up and did a sort of embarrassing little dance to himself.

Hinata remained sitting on the ground and watched him with a giggle and smile. _"...I'm so happy that you're happy Naruto..."_ she thought to herself and then gave a surprised look when he plopped back down next to her.

He looked at her for a moment and when she was about to ask if anything was wrong, he brought his arms around her shoulders and held her to him in an embrace. "...Thanks Hinata. I really appreciate it." he said to her while tightening his hold on her.

The Hyuuga heiress didn't know what to do. Her face was a bright red and she could feel herself burning up. A powerful urge to lose conciousness for a moment came over her, but she fought it. Hesitantly and slowly bringing her arms up and around him as well, she placed her chin on his shoulder. "Y-You're w-welcome Naruto..." she whispered to him as she couldn't feel any happier.

An awkward minute went by as they stayed there in silence and then Naruto broke the hold. He put a hand behind his head and laughed a bit embarrassed. "W-Well, I guess I should get going eh? See ya around Hinata!" he said brightly and stood up putting a hand on her head before leaving back towards Konoha.

Hinata watched him leave and finally exhaled the large breath caught in her chest. She could feel her heart racing and her emotions running wild. _"I-I can't really believe what has just happened...I can't believe I'm going to a Christmas party with N-Naruto tomorrow...I-I-I...need to stop thinking before I go insane..."_ she thought to herself, laying down in the grass and looking up to the dimming sky.

Upon heading home, the young kunoichi collided with another kunoichi in front of the flower shop.

"Hey! Watch it! Oh, how are you Hinata?" the young girl said turning around at first angry and then smiling brightly.

The girl had blonde hair that was up in a short ponytail and had blue eyes that seemed happy. She wore a purple shirt and dress, and her stomach and thighs were bandaged and she looked very thin. Around her waist also rested her Konoha ninja band which she had only used around her forehead once in combat with Sakura. She was one of the only ninja to wear earings and she sported the ninja foot gear and wore white sleeves on her arms that were removable and came at her wrist and ended just above her elbow. She was part of the Yamanaka clan which is known for their abilities to use mind control techniques by putting their own mind into anothers. Her name was Yamanaka Ino, none other than the party organizer herself.

"My apologies Ino, I will pay more attention next time." Hinata said and bowed her head to the blonde kunoichi apologetically.

Ino shook her head and put a hand on the Hyuuga heiress' shoulder. "Don't worry about it. So are you coming to the party tomorrow?" she asked her with a smile, going back to tend to the flowers outside the shop.

Hinata nodded her head with a small smile as well. "Yes, I look forward to it. I thank you for inviting me." she replied and once again bowed her head.

Not looking up from her work, Ino replied, "Good, good. Are you bringing a guest along? If so, who is it?" The flowers seemed to be very reluctant to go into the pot Ino was trying to place them in.

"Yes...It's...N-Naruto." Hinata mumbled, looking away from the Yamanaka ninja a bit embarrassed.

Ino stopped doing her work, she looked at Hinata and put her hands on her hips with a frown on her face. "I didn't invite him for a reason! Why would you go and do that?" she asked her.

The lavender-eyed girl started to blush and poke her index fingers together. "I-I felt bad and I-I-I..." she started, but was cut off by a gasp from Ino.

"You like him don't you!?" Ino exclaimed with a bright expression and put her hands to her face excitedly, one leg in the air.

"Ino please! N-Not so l-loud..." Hinata said and cringed as Ino made a small squeal.

"That is so cute! But why couldn't you like someone besides _him_...Ugh, you have strange taste Hinata. Well, whatever makes you happy I guess, just make sure he doesn't ruin my party!" Ino warned and the picked a flower from the pot in front of her shop. "Here, put it near your bedside or something. See you tomorrow Hinata..." she said and went back inside of her shop.

Hinata took the flower and looked at it a bit fondly. It was rather cute and a nice color. She placed it in her hair and then started to walk towards her home. _"I have strange taste when she obsesses over Sasuke...Even after he betrays us and hurts Naruto they still are infatuated over him...I have strange taste..."_ she thought to herself a bit bitterly, but soon got over it.

That night, sitting in front of her small diary, she wrote about what had happened earlier.

_Decemeber 24th, Christmas Eve_

_I got an invitation this morning, Neji woke me up extra early to make sure I got it. He was curious about its contents as well apparantly. When I opened it, I found that it was an invitation to a Christmas party sent by Ino! I was very excited and when I told Neji, I thought that he would react to not being invited, but he didn't. I suppose it isn't that strange. So, I went out to the field I usually go to, just outside of Konoha's gates, and there I found Naruto. He looked so cute snoozing there...I accidently woke him up, and told him about the party. He looked really upset to not being invited, so when I told him that I could bring a guest and invited him to accompany him, he cheered right up! He even gave me a hug! It felt like it lasted for so long...It was only a minute or so though...Anyway, when he took off to go home, I was relaxing for a while and then decided to leave as well. I bumped into Ino who was still working and she asked me if I was going to the party. When I said yes and told her who I was bringing, she got pretty upset telling me that she didn't invite him for a reason. When she questioned why, I was about to tell her something when she cut me off saying that I liked him! How did she know? Was it that obvious? If it was, how come Naruto can't tell? Anyway, she told me I had strange taste and sent me off with a cute flower. All I can think about though is how does liking Naruto make me have strange taste when they like Sasuke, a traitor and someone who didn't even care for them? Well, I guess it is none of my concern, you can't help who you fall in love with...I can't wait until tomorrow!_

_Good night, _

_Hyuuga Hinata_

Hinata felt very drained for some reason and ended up falling asleep at her desk, leaving the diary ajar.


	4. Chapter 4 A Christmas Celebration

**Author's Notes **

Hello to everyone who is reading this, I know that I have not done author's notes for the previous chapters of the story, and I may not do them often at all, but I decided that perhaps now would be a good time to put this in.

I want to use this to thank the people that are reading my fan fiction and that are giving me reviews. I understand that the chapters are short and I have come to realize that in comparison to some others peoples' stories, mine, in my opinion, falls short. Still, I welcome any comments, whether good or bad, helpful or otherwise, on my progress so far. I am really making an effort to make the duration of my chapters longer, but I don't really have too much time to write these things as I have many things to do during the day and sitting down in the evening when I am tired and bushed to write this, relaxes me in a way, but can also add to my tiredness.

Still, I really want to finish this story and I love to write even if it is only for myself to read. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I also thank you all again for the reviews and I hope that you will continue reading the story I enjoy typing for you and myself.

I hope to put something of interest in this chapter of the story, even as much as I enjoy the fluff, I also like a good battle and such from time to time.

I should also put that please don't post reviews or send me messages saying that you don't approve of something that I put in the story. I think that if I'm right I may get some reactions to it, but I won't spoil anything before you read. Let's see if you guys can figure out what I am talking about. I don't think it'll be that big of a deal, but some people do get touchy on the subject. It's a fanfiction people, just a warning ahead of time. ;)

Besides these things, I would also like to apologize for the lack of Temari's last name. I do not know what it is and I tried to look up Gaara's last name thinking I would find something(you know they are related so they would share the same last name), but everyones' best bet is Sabuku. Since I am unsure I just didn't put anything.

Also, I feel like I should probably mention that I may put some other couples in this story other than that of Naruto and Hinata. I haven't fully decided on it yet though. Keep reading to find out. ;)

Hearts! Vanessa

On to the story... ;)

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Chapter Four: A Christmas Celebration

_Fourth Day of Winter...December 25th, Christmas Day, _

As Hinata snoozed peacefully, her head on the hard wood of the desk, a small puddle of drool under her mouth and her yellow diary and party invitation sitting open for prying eyes to look. She did not stir, why would she when it was only about six in the morning? There still was someone awake though and they were quite intent on prying into the Hyuuga's things...

The velvety book slowly removed from under her hand and brought up into the hand of an intruder in the Hyuuga mansion. No emotion crossed his face as he read the pages from the very beginning of the personal book, only when he got to the latest entry did his interest pique.

A knock was heard at the door and the young man's head snapped around towards the wooden barrier. His gaze hovered back over to the navy haired kunoichi who was stirring slowly awake. Quickly snatching up the invitation and scanning it, logging the information in his head for later use, he returned the book to the desk and excused himself through the open window.

Finally, Hinata awakening from her peaceful slumber, did not bother going to the door. She instead just started on preparing herself for the party in the afternoon, she knew that it was hours away, but preparing herself would take a large amount of time and then perhaps she will go around to asking if her fellow squad members were invited.

Her outfit picked out consisted of a tight fitting kimono that was lavender in color to match her eyes. A light yellow was delicately fitted into the arrangement of the outfit, giving her an elegant and bright look. The only thing that she did not like about her attire was the fit of it to her body, exposing her shape, as it made her feel embarrassed and she did not think herself very attractive, despite the fact that she is. She decided to take her hair from the duck style and bring it down so that it was long and flowing, it reached just below her shoulder blades. Observing how her hair looked in that way, she gave a small smile and proceeded to brush it gently so that it was soft to the touch, but had a marvelous shine. Slipping her small feet into a pair of two and a half inch heels, she looked over herself in the mirror and despite her low self-esteem, Hinata was quite pleased with her appearence. One last thing she needed though and looked over to the flower that Ino had given her the previous day. She picked it up and placed it into her hair, smiling at her reflection brightly.

Another knock came to the door, about an hour and a half had passed, she still had quite a while to go until the party began. She answered this time and Neji stood on the other side. When getting a full look at her, he made a small sound in awe and then cleared his throat with a smile. "Hinata, you look magnificent. I assume that it is for the Christmas party that you were invited to attend?" he said with a small bow to her.

Hinata returned the bow and put her hands together happily. "I am glad that you like it Neji, yes it is, do you think that I am over dressed?" she asked him then frowning, worries finally popping into her head.

"No, you have overdone nothing. I hope that you enjoy your evening there." he told her and took a moment to look at her again and then smile before finally taking his leave.

Pleased once again, Hinata then thought of something, she didn't want everyone to see her before the party, well besides Kiba and Shino so she went into the hallway and looked to Neji walking.

"Neji! Wait, if I may please ask a favor of you!" she called as she shuffled to him in her heels.

The Hyuuga male turned around to look at her and nodded. "Of course you may." he said and folded his arms to his chest, watching her with an expressionless face.

"Okay, please, may you find Kiba and Shino and ask them to come here? I request to speak to them." she asked him and smiled.

"I will go right away." he told her and started to take off already.

"Thank you Neji!" Hinata called to him as he disappeared behind the Hyuuga estate's entrance doors. She sighed and then returned to her room where her attention was returned to the desk. A frown played across her lips as something seemed off to her. Placing the thoughts in the back of her mind, she sat on her bed and stared up at the ceiling, humming absentmindedly. Not too long after, a loud voice was heard through her walls.

"It's too early for this!" came the all too familiar voice of Kiba and a bark that belonged to Akamaru no doubt followed in agreement.

"Please, keep you voice down." Neji's voice was heard as a knock came to the door.

"Ack!" was all that was heard when Hinata answered the door and stepped aside to allow them in. Kiba and Shino entered and Neji excused himself, closing the door behind him.

The Inuzuka clan member and the Aburame clan member both looked around to the young Hyuuga heiress and one had a grin plastered to his face and the other bore the same facial expression as he usually did. Hinata brought her hands together behind her back and smiled shyly.

"How do I look?" she asked them quietly, looking at the ground and not noticing Kiba's expression.

Shino shrugged and made no comment. He did not really pay attention to her much as to the inside of her room.

Akamaru barked happily and approvingly from atop his companion's head. Kiba smiled to her. "Hinata! You look great! Better than great! Is this all for the Christmas party later on?" he asked her, he couldn't help but stare at her somewhat, his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, you guys were invited too? I'm glad." Hinata said and smiled brightly, she giggled somewhat.

Kiba scowled. "No, Shino wasn't invited, but I'm bringing him as my plus one." he said and grinned over to the bug speacialist. When he got no response back, he shrugged and looked back to Hinata. "You bringin' anyone?" he asked curiously.

Hinata didn't know if she should tell anyone else her guest because of the reaction she got from Ino the previous day.

"I-I'm bringing Naruto..." she said and made sure to whisper the last part so that it was barely audible.

Kiba frowned. "Come again?" he asked, but Akamaru made a bark to him and then he scowled again. "Ack! That baka? So he wasn't invited eh? I figured." he said and then snickered a bit.

Hinata didn't say anything, she merely looked to the ground with a somewhat hurt expression on her face. She backed up a bit and sat on her bed and sighed.

Shino eyed her and then looked to Kiba. "You're very rude do you know that? I'm surprised that _you_ were even invited..." he said and then glanced to Hinata who looked at him with a small smile, seeming to feel better.

"Ack, what do you know?" Kiba growled and made a rude gesture towards Shino and the white dog on his head joined in with a yip of his own.

The Aburame boy rolled his eyes and headed to the door. "I'm leaving, see you all later on." he said and walked out of the room by himself.

Kiba looked after him with an angry expression to his face. "Ack, I wonder why I even invited him to come with me." he said and crossed his arms to his chest in a huffy way and then turned back to the beautiful kunoichi on her bed. He sat at the desk and Akamaru hopped off of his head and proceeded to sniff around her room. "So Hinata, what do you think I should dress in for the party?" he asked her with a bright smile.

The lavender-eyed young lady gave him a surprised look and then bit her lip. "You're asking me for something like that? Perhaps you should go see Ino or Sakura for attire advice." she said and giggled a bit.

Kiba cocked his head to the side and frowned. "What are you talking about? You did really well dressing yourself, why not me?" he said and then returned to his smile.

Hinata blushed somewhat from embarrassment. "Thank you...I really don't know though Kiba, I don't really know your style and what you would like to dress in and such." she said with a small smile and then an apologetic look.

He shrugged. "Alright, but if I end up looking like a bum at the party then I'm blaming you." he said and then chuckled, standing up and returning his hands to his jacket pockets. "Come on Akamaru!" he said to the white dog that was sniffing around Hinata's diary.

"Rrrarf!" Akamaru barked and then jumped up Kiba's arm to rest on his head. Kiba turned back to the kunoichi and smiled. He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder grinning. "Oi, you better not change your mind about coming to the party alright? See ya!" he said and ran off and out of the door, closing it tightly behind him.

Hinata sighed and then looked to her diary which she kept getting the feeling that someone else had read it. "Maybe I only feel that way because Akamaru was sniffing about it...?" she thought to herself with a frown. She stood up and went over to it, placing the small velvety book inside of the draw where she thought she should keep it from now on.

_Hours later... _

More knocks to the door, Hinata was getting pretty tired of all this knocking already, it was all she heard everyday. She went over to the door a little nervous, she wondered if it was Naruto. Finally she pulled the door open and outside stood an impatient, but handsome blonde young man in the door.

He was tapping his foot and had his arms crossed in front of his chest. He seemed to dress for the occasion though as he had a long sleeved, buttoned down black shirt and clean, crisp black pants. He sported black boots and he looked more ready to go to a fancy funeral then to a Christmas party. His shirt was buttoned all the way up until the first two top buttons and his collar was down as intended. It fit nicely to him, not too snug, but not exactly loose either, same with his pants. When he finally noticed an embarrassed Hinata standing at the door, he put his hands behind his head and grinned.

"Hey, you look wonderful." he complimented and watched as she swayed slightly in her spot, hanging onto the door for support it seemed. He frowned as she was very red. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked her.

The navy haired girl smiled and shook her head. "I-I-I'm fine...Thank you for the compliment...You look h-ha-handsome as well." she told him and bowed her head.

He gave a small pinkness to his cheeks and chuckled. "Nah...Anyway, we should get going then, come on!" he said and offered her his arm to take with a smile.

Her lavender eyes traveled slowly to his arm and back up to his face and then back to his arm and etc. She bit her lip and didn't know if she should take it or go with her instinct and strong urge to faint. She shook her head and decided it best just not to think and go with the flow. Taking his arm a little nervously, she looked to him with a smile and then turned back to facing foreward.

"Sh-Shall we go then?" she asked quitely and he nodded as they started to walk.

"You know, your hair looks really good like that Hinata." he told her and they made light conversation all the way to Ino's house.

When arriving, Naruto took the liberty of knocking on the door and waiting for someone to answer. A blonde young girl came to the door smiling but soon frowned a bit.

"Merry Christmas. Oh, hey Hinata...Naruto." Ino said and stepped aside, opening the door wide to let them in. They stepped in and looked around, everyone was dressed up like Hinata assumed and the house looked very lovely, elaborately decorated.

Snowflakes that sparkled mischeviously hung down from the ceiling and the lights were dimmed to give a winter night effect. The ground was covered with a soft blanket of fake snow and it was annoying Naruto as it clung to his black clothing. There were cookies and cakes and even sandwiches in various shapes like pine trees and snowninja. Punch was at every table as were an assortment of plates, utensils, cups and napkins.

Ino watched them walk arm in arm with a slightly sour look and then spoke cheerly. "Make sure to pick up your party favors before leaving okay? They are in the little bags on that table." she told them and pointed over to the table where, sure enough, a bunch of little bags decorated nicely were sitting waiting to be taken home.

Hinata and Naruto both nodded and then Ino went over to stand beside Hinata. "Can I talk to you a moment?" she asked with a bright smile and took Hinata's arm.

Hinata didn't really want to leave Naruto's side, but she looked up to look into his blue eyes. He nodded and took his arm back, going over to talk to Sakura who he spotted rather quickly.

The lavender-eyed kunoichi frowned, but allowed Ino to walk with her around the party. "So...You and Naruto here on a...you know...date?" the blue-eyed female asked Hinata innocently.

Hinata looked to her blushing. "N-No...He is just here as my fr-friend." she said and gave an awkward smile. "W-Why do you ask Ino?" she asked her.

Ino gave a laugh that seemed like she was hiding something. "J-Just curious Hinata! Am I the only one that knows you like him?" she said and brought her voice low when she asked her question.

Hinata found the Yamanaka's actions suspicious, but decided to brush it off for now. "T-To my knowledge, yes. Please don't tell anyone Ino, I don't know if I'd be able to show myself again here if h-he found out..." the Hyuuga heiress said and looked down to the ground with a somber expression.

Ino sighed. "Of course I won't tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me..." she replied and released Hinata's arm and went off to answer the door. "Have fun!" she called back to Hinata who smiled a bit back to her.

Moving her lavender eyes around the room to search for Naruto, she found the blonde haired young man talking and laughing with the pink haired medical ninja in training. She felt a little heartfallen, but decided that perhaps she should try and make conversation with someone else, as not to appear lonely. She spotted someone that looked very familiar from behind speaking to Ten-Ten and walked over.

"Neji?" Hinata asked tapping the shoulder of the young man questioningly.

The navy haired male turned around and smiled to the Hyuuga heiress. He was very nicely dressed and it was odd for Hinata, but she smiled to him non-the-less.

"Hello Hinata. How are you?" he asked her, taking a sip from the cup of punch in his hand. Ten-Ten waved brightly to the young kunoichi from behind Neji.

"I'm fine...How come you didn't tell me you were invited?" Hinata asked with a slight frown.

"Because I was not invited, Ten-Ten took me as her guest." he replied motioning a hand over to his female squad member who smiled.

"I see, my apologies for misunderstanding. Have fun then." Hinata said and both her and Neji bowed their heads as she walked away from them.

Meanwhile, Ino was answering the ever ringing doorbell. Kiba was the first one to arrive after Hinata and Naruto.

"Merry Christmas. I though you bringing that bug freak?" Ino said and made a face.

Kiba scowled. "He said he didn't feel like dressing up for a stupid event." he said bitterly and Akamaru barked.

Ino shook her head. "Come on in. Make sure that dog stays out of trouble." she warned and the little white dog responded with a growl. He had a cute bowtie wrapped around his neck.

The next guests were a young man who appeared quite bored accompanied by a dressed up sand kunoichi.

"Merry Christmas. You told me you wouldn't dress up for my party, but when she comes you do!" Ino scowled and yelled to him.

The young man shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, hey, don't just assume things like that. Dressing up was troublesome, but be happy I bothered even _showing_ up." he said and walked inside, the sand ninja walking in after him.

The ninja that came from the sand's normal attire consisted of a lavender top above a fishnet top. A skirt that was also lavender and a red cloth wrapped across her waist. Fish nets also were on her left thigh ending right above the knee and her right calf ending just below the knee. She bore normal ninja footwear except black in color and her Sunagakure forehead protector hung around her neck. Her blonde hair was up in four individual tails at two at the top and two at the bottom of her head and one two on each respective side. She had blue eyes and was a very formidable opponent. Known for carrying and battling with a large fan and air currents, she is very intelligent and strong. Her name is Temari.

The young shinobi on the other hand was a Konoha ninja. He had his hair up in a spikey ponytail and like Ino, wore earrings. He had a lazy and uncaring look and air about him. Ascending to the rank of Chuunin earlier than anyone else in his group, his normal attire consists of the normal chuunin jacket and he wears the Konoha band around his left forearm. He wears black pants and the normal ninja footwear. Part of the Nara clan known for attacking by controling shadows, he has a great intelligence and could easily do anything he put his mind to, but he is extremely lazy to put his smarts to much use in his everyday life. He would give anything for his friends and loves to watch the clouds. He is called Nara Shikamaru.

The next knock that came to the door was a heavier ninja who was dressed up, but snacking on a bag of potatoe chips rather hungrily.

"Hey, Merry Christmas." Ino said and twitched as he spoke a piece of a chip landed on her face.

"Merry Christmas to you too Ino!" the ninja said happily and walked inside immiediately heading for the snack tables.

Spikey brown hair stuck out of the ninja band worn as somewhat of a helmet on his head. This shinobi's normal appearence consisted of an ear piercing on his right ear and red swirls painted onto his cheeks. He wore a long scarf around his neck and a green coat over his shirt that bore the kanji for 'eat' and 'food'. Navy shorts and bandages on his arms and running up to his elbows. His legs also bore the bandages up and into his shorts. The normal ninja footgear, he is part of the Akimichi clan known for using their larger sizes to enlarge body parts and attack with their access body weight. His name is Akimichi Choji, a loveable ninja that is very sensitive to remarks about his weight.

"Choji! You better not eat all the food!" Ino yelled to him angrily and shook a fist in his direction. He seemed to disregard her though and continue eating.

Another guest arrived, knocking on the door in rapid succession.

"Alright, alright!" Ino said and opened the door to reveal a rather strange looking ninja.

"Merry Christmas, come on in." she said and stepped aside to allow the ninja in. She had invited him purposely to bother Sakura and grinned as that was the last person she invited to the party.

"Merry Christmas to you as well Ino!" the shinobi said loudly and gave her a thumbs up and a big smile.

"...Oh I'm sure I'll have one alright." the blonde kunoichi muttered under her breath as she went around to talk to people.

The unique looking ninja, as he was reffered to, had a strange bowl cut hairstyle done with his jet black hair. He had extremely large eyebrows that deemed him the nickname of 'fuzzy brows' from Naruto. He normally wears a green jumpsuit and wears his Konoha band around his waist proudly. He wears orange pant sleeves that are removable and run up to the knees, to conceal extremely heavy weights that he uses to train and already having an amazing speed with the weights on, when taken off he is merely a blur to the eye. Since he is unable to use his chakra, he specializes in taijutsu and believes that with hard work, he can surpass those that can use chakra and ninjutsu as well as genjutsu. An aspiring and polite young man, his name is Rock Lee.

Spotting Sakura almost immiediately, he ran over to her and smiled. "Hello Sakura, you look magnificent tonight, as you do every other night of course." he said and bowed his head to her.

Naruto frowned and folded his arms, but Sakura gave a small blush and giggled a bit. "Thank you Lee." she said and offered him a cup of punch. He accepted gratefully and drank it cheerfully. While making conversation with them to which Naruto tried to tune out.

A few hours passing into the party and Ino started going around with miseltoe in her hand. Some people groaned, but others just remained silent and tried to show that they did not care much. "Come on guys! What's a Christmas party without miseltoe?" she said simpily and smiled cheerfully.

She went over to random groups of people and her first destination was to the little circle of Naruto, Sakura and Lee. She put the plant over Naruto's head and stood under with him. "Looks like it's me." she said and smiled somewhat.

He gave a sour look and scowled loudly, but finally just kissed her lightly on the cheek so she would move on. Hinata watched a bit hurt that Ino would do something like that even after knowing how the lavender-eyed girl felt about him, but she just assumed it was all in the spirit and tried not to let it get to her.

After letting the miseltoe hover over Sakura and Lee, the blonde kunoichi looked over to a sad looking Hinata and sighed. _"Damn me for having a heart..."_ she thought to herself and then turned to Naruto. "Hey! The person who invited you looks rather lonely! Why don't you go and join her?" Ino yelled at Naruto.

The blonde haired ninja looked over to where Hinata was standing and shook his head. He walked over to her and leaned against the table. "Hey Hinata, having fun?" he asked her with a smile.

She looked over to him and smiled. "Yes." she replied simpley.

"You know, if you were standing here all alone, you could have just come over to talk to me, Sakura and Lee." he said and frowned somewhat, he could tell she wasn't really having a good time.

"I, well, I didn't want to..." she started with a small blush. She wanted to say she didn't really want to hang around him when he was around Sakura, but she couldn't bring herself to admit she had a problem with his one-sided affection for her.

"Didn't want to what Hinata?" he asked her and tilted his head to look at her face. They were interuppted though at a loud yell from Shikamaru.

"No! Get that thing away from me!" the Nara shinobi yelled and pushed Ino's hand away from the top of his head.

"Come on Shikamaru! Everyone else did it!" Ino yelled back fighting against him and looking angry.

Temari stood with her arms folded to her chest and frowned somewhat. "Gee, I didn't know that I was so disgusting." she said and looked away from Shikamaru and the struggling Yamanaka kunoichi with an upset face.

Shikamaru let the blonde ninja fall to the ground and looked to the sand kunoichi with an exhasperated expression. "I don't think you are disgusting! Troublesome, yes, but not disgusting." he told her and folded his arms as well.

When she did not answer, he sighed and cursed. "Shit, screw it, fine!" he said and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to him and putting his lips against hers, taking the sand ninja by surprise.

Everybody watched, Naruto trying to contain his laughter, it looked really awkward and when Shikamaru pulled out he had a small blush to his face. Temari was still taken aback and couldn't bring herself to say anything. She settled for leaving the spot and getting something to drink from the tables.

"Gee Shikamaru, you didn't have to kiss her on the _lips_." Ino said and smirked, putting her hands on her hips and looking at the Nara shinobi with an amused expression.

Shikamaru looked angry for a moment and then made a gesture to Ino. "Damnit! You women are so..._troublesome_!" he yelled and stormed out of the party, not before taking a party favor for himself though. He slammed the door behind him, causing a shining snowflake to fall on Naruto's head.

"Watch it!" Naruto yelled rubbing his mass of spikey blonde hair. He turned back to Hinata though and then everyone else returned to their previous conversations as well. "So, what were we talking about?" he asked with a smile.

Hinata sighed in relief that he forgot. "I don't remember truthfully Naruto...That must have been embarrassing..." she said and looked to Temari with a sympathetic expression, but the sand ninja didn't look entirely upset, she looked more shocked and confused than anything.

"Yeah...Oh well though, I'm sure they'll get over it." the blue-eyed shinobi said and smiled happily.

Ino felt bad for Choji who had lost his talking buddy and headed over to him with the miseltoe above their heads. "Merry Christmas." she said cheerfully and gave him a light peck on the cheek before proceeding. This did seem to make the chubby shinobi feel a bit better.

The Hyuuga heiress noticed Ino coming towards Naruto and herself and felt her heart jump in her chest. She turned to Naruto and pretended she didn't notice, acting surprised when Ino approached them with the plant hanging over their heads.

"Come on...You don't want to make a scene like Shikamaru did do you? Cause I have no problem with that." the Yamanaka kunoichi said cheerfully and looked to both of them.

Hinata smiled back to her and Naruto merely shrugged. He was about to give the crimson red lavender-eyed girl a kiss on the cheek when the ceiling came down suddenly, everyone bounding to one side of the room.

"What the hell!?" Ino yelled as the smoke started clearing to reveal a young man standing up from the pile of rubble on the powdery floor.

He brushed himself off and looked to everyone. "Am I too late for the party...?" he asked in a deep and emotionless voice.


	5. Chapter 5 Party Crashers

Chapter 5: Party Crashers

_The Fourth Day of Winter, December 25th, Chirstmas Day, continued..._

Bounding back into the now destroyed house of Yamanaka, Shikamaru stood near the group and had a concerned look to his face. "What happened here?" he said asked confused and then they all looked over the party crasher.

"You!" Naruto snarled from next to Hinata and he could feel an anger welling up inside of him.

"Naruto...Long time no see." the young man said and took an advancing step towards them.

The young man looked about the same age as the others there, he had a smirk playing slightly on his lips, they stood under the gaze of his crimson red eyes. Both of his cold eyes bore the Sharingan, a bloodline trait known to the now almost wiped out Uchiha clan of Konoha. Apparantly already informed of the event, he was dressed up and looking nicely groomed for the occassion. He used to wear a blue shirt and sleeves that resembled Ino's as well as navy shorts, bandages on his calves and the normal ninja foot gear. Now, it was unknown what his normal attire was, not that it mattered much. His jet black hair, with small tints of blue, was a bit powdered with dust, debree and a piece of miseltoe, from the crashing, yet he never took his eyes off the crew. A traitor to the village of Konoha, his name was Uchiha Sasuke.

Sakura twitched as she wanted to say something to the returned shinobi, but couldn't find the words. Instead she took a step near Naruto and got into a battle position.

Sasuke had his crimson eyes travel over to look at the soon to be medical kunoichi and smirked. "You too Sakura? I thought you _loved_ me...?" he said and then shrugged. "Ino...Pity I wasn't invited, you all seemed to be having such a great time. I didn't spoil anything did I?" he asked, apparantly mocking them.

Ino had a cross expression, but chose not to answer him. She folded her arms to her chest and watched to see what would happen.

"What are you doing here, you just show up outta no where and expect us all to welcome you back with open arms? If that's what you even wanted." Kiba spat and Akamaru growled, jumping to the floor next to his companion's feet.

Sasuke looked to him next. "Snuff it dog-breath. I didn't come here to play nice, I came here to settle a score..." he said and then turned back to the spikey blonde haired shinobi with a smirk. "What do you say Naruto...Ready for a rematch?" he asked and made a taunting motion over to him.

Hinata grasped Naruto's arm tightly and looked to him with concerned eyes. "You don't have to do it Naruto...Maybe he'll just leave." she told him and gave him a pleading look as to say not to go.

He brought his blue eyes to meet her lavender ones that seemed to be welling up with tears and he looked back to Sasuke who gave him another smirk and a flash of his Sharingan. _"Damnit..."_ he thought to himself and clenched his fists. He broke his arm free of Hinata's grasp. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this." he told her and walked out of the group and up to Sasuke, putting a respectable distance inbetween them.

"Let's get this over with." Naruto said and took his forehead protecter out of his pocket and tied it around his head.

Sasuke gave a chuckle. "Glad I don't have to wear that thing anymore." he said and then waited for Naruto to make the first move on him.

The blue-eyed shinobi growled and pulled out a kunai, charging towards Sasuke with the upmost ambition to take him down.

"Tch." the Uchiha sneered and side-stepped the attack easily, taking Naruto's arm in both his hands, looking as if he was going to break it.

Naruto looked at him and took his legs, and putting them around Sasuke's, tipping him over. The ninja quickly gained his balance, but not before Naruto caught him by the collar of his nicely tucked shirt and snarled in his face.

"Why?" he asked and watched as Sasuke laughed.

"You just never learn." the black haired shinobi said and then proceeded to run a hand through his hair. He pulled out the miseltoe and held it over his head. He smirked to Naruto. "Like Ino said, what's Christmas without miseltoe?" he said and gave Naruto a quick kiss on the lips.

Sakura made a 'grossed-out' face and shook her head. _"That's Naruto and Sasuke's __second__ kiss and I never even got one! He __must__ be gay..."_ she thought angrily to herself and closed her eyes.

Hinata could feel her eye twitching slightly as she averted her gaze. Kiba tried to surpress a laugh, he knew it wasn't supposed to be a laughing moment. Lee covered his eyes and Neji wasn't paying much attention. Ten-Ten gasped rather loudly and Temari put a hand up to her throat making an 'ick' sound. Ino was caught between anger and shock and didn't know which to express. Choji started to choke on his chips and Shikamaru ran over to him to help dislodge the objects before Choji died from suffocation.

Naruto growled and aimed a punch to Sasuke's jaw, but he leaned back and held onto Naruto's collar, bringing himself up in a jump, pushing out with his legs to the blonde shinobi's stomach. He skidded backwards and Sasuke did a backflip and stood up straight. "Oh come on Naruto! Have some holiday spirit!" he said as he watched Naruto wipe his mouth a couple of times in disgust. "Damn you bastard." the blue-eyed ninja said and spit on the ground. The Uchiha made no comment, but sped towards him with an attack in mind.

Naruto put up his hand symbols. "_Kage Bushin No Jutsu!_" he said, but felt someone's hand enclose upon his right wrist. He looked down to see Sasuke grab him just as he summoned his shadow clones. He made seals in such a speed that Naruto couldn't even tell what technique it was before it was called. "_Katon! Hōsenka no Jutsu!" _Sasuke called and jumped back to a distance so that all the clones and Naruto were in the vicinity of his technique. The technique about to be performed and Naruto struggling to make the perfect reaction, an explosion was heard from near where the door used to sit.

"Damnit! Stop destroying my house!!!" Ino yelled to whoever, or whatever, it was that came in.

Sasuke was not the least bit distracted and brought his fingers up to his mouth, blowing out the large fireballs, kunai hidden inside each of them and coming at Naruto quickly.

Naruto jumped back and allowed his clones to grab most of the blow, but not before his leg being embedded with kunai and catching into a small fire, and upon landing making him fall to one knee in pain. He looked up to Sasuke and watched as he walked through his fire technique that the Uchiha were known for, and looked down at Naruto.

"You're pathetic, come on...Where is that power you showed me when we fought that fateful day? Use it!" he said and kicked Naruto's injured leg. The blonde ninja brought his hands to his leg and clutched it as he looked up to the cruel shinobi. Sasuke squat to be face to face with Naruto and looked into his blue eyes with a smirk. Naruto averted his gaze. "Done already?" he asked and grabbed the back of Naruto's head, taking a handful of his blonde spikey hair and pulling his head back. About to make another snide remark, the Uchiha felt the hair on the back of his neck tingle.

Sasuke looked out of the corner of his eyes as he could feel someone advancing from behind him. He quickly turned around with a blow aimed, but his arm was grabbed and twisted around to his back. The black haired shiobi made a sound and then snarled, inclining his head to look at the person who dared interfere in his battle.

Naruto looked up to the person who had restrained Sasuke and bore another angry expression as well.

"God...It's like a family reunion." Kiba said and growled towards the battle, Akamaru joined him.

"There is no way that we can handle this, even all of us together. Come on, we should get someone with more experience to take care of these two, or at least the older one." Shikamaru said and then pointed to Choji, Ten-Ten, Ino and Kiba. "You four, go and get the jounin, we'll stay here and do anything we can." he instructed and the four of them nodded and took off quickly.

Returning his gaze to the battle Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets. "That's him isn't it?" he asked to the small group left.

Sakura nodded. "They do share a resemblance..." she said and looked at the stranger with a look that indicated her thoughts were elsewhere.

"Tch, I guess all we can do is watch unless Naruto is seriously starting to get hurt." the Nara shinobi said and sighed.

Hinata looked to the battle nervously, she didn't want to sit around and do nothing, but then again what could she do against Sasuke? Nevermind an S-ranked ninja...

"Surprise..." the man holding Sasuke's arm said quitely and further twisted it watching Sasuke squirm in pain.

He was tall and mysterious looking, a straw hat with white strands falling from it sat atop his head. His were a frightening crimson, like Sasuke's, except further advanced. His was called the Mangekyo Sharingan and was very deadly to whoever stood on the recieving end of one of its techniques. He had long, jet-black hair that was drawn back and lines slanting from the corner of his eyes to the tip of his cheekbones. His robe was black and had red clouds, his nails painted indigo and a ring that stood for 'blood' was worn on his right hand, index finger, a member of the infamous and powerful group Akatsuki. A very talented shinobi and the older brother of Uchiha Sasuke, he was none other than Uchiha Itachi.

Itachi let out a cold laugh. "Boy...Stay out of this, Naruto belongs to me." he said in the younger Uchiha's ear, putting a hand through his tinted jet-black hair.

"You...bastard!" Sasuke yelled in a fury as his arm was further put in an awkward and painful position. Too enraged to care too much about the pain in his body, he turned around with a punch that had his full force into it, aimed at Itachi's mug.

He released his grasp from Sasuke's arm and grabbed his fist, crushing it in his hand. "You really think that you are a match for me? I guess one lesson is never enough with you..." he said and made a quick strike with his palm to Sasuke's chin, forcing his head upward. He brought his knee to his mid-section and watched as Sasuke fell to the ground in a genuflecting postion.

Panting a bit and a small amount of blood trickling from his mouth, Sasuke was thinking on what to do next. He felt his head being brought up by his hair in the same manner he had done so to Naruto moments before and closed his eyes as Itachi looked into his Sharingan with that of his Mangekyo. Perhaps they were not as different as he liked to think.

"You are still worthless Sasuke...Worthless to me, worthless to your..." Itachi started in a low and menacing voice, pausing to look over at the group of ninja watching. "'Friends'. I'm done with you." he whispered and threw Sasuke to the ground, stepping over him and advancing towards Naruto.

The blonde shinobi stood, he would not go down as easily as Sasuke, he refused. _"Kage Bushin No Jutsu!"_ he yelled and brought one of his clones close to him, holding his hand out as it started to work on Rasengan. The other shadow clones came at Itachi.

Using simple taijutsu, the S-rank shinobi defeated them all easily and looked at Naruto and his finished technique unphased. "So, we are using those kind of techniques are we...Let me show you one of my own then..." Itachi said quietly and created hand symbols in a blurred manner. _"Amarterasu..."_ he muttered and brought his fingers to his mouth as Sasuke had done earlier. He blew outward and towards the blonde young shinobi as soon as he yelled, _"Rasengan!"_ and charged for him. He was taken aback from the surge of black flames towards him, but was suddenly tackled out of the way before contact was made. He fell to the ground , someone landing on top of him, Rasengan still spinning in his outstretched hand.

"Sasuke!? What the hell!?" Naruto yelled confused to the younger Uchiha's actions in saving him.

"Don't think too much into it, I don't want him to get you, you're mine." Sasuke said and looked at Naruto with a bit of a smirk.

"Last time I checked I belonged to no one!" Naruto yelled and thrust the spinning sphere of chakra at the ninja on top of him.

Sasuke rolled off of him and narrowly avoided the blow and then snarled. "Nice way to show your appreciation! I deal with you after!" he yelled and returned to his feet as soon as this was done, he was knocked over again.

Itachi stood over him and gave a chuckle. "You're pathetic." he said and tured around to grab Naruto's face, he had attempted to attack him from behind. "And you are a fool." he said to the blonde ninja, looking into his blue eyes and his Mangekyo started to spin. _"Tsukuyomi."_ he said and Naruto was brought to the illusionary world with Itachi. "Hmmm...How long should I torture you? a year? Perhaps ten?" he said and taunted Naruto.

**"How about none..."** a snarl came from somewhere and the illusionary world started to warp as they came back to reality quickly. Naruto was staring at the ground and Itachi did not look the least bit perplexed at the events. The young shinobi looked up finally, the whisker marks on his face becoming more prominant and his blue eyes now a crimson color, a slitted pupil in replace of his normal one, like a cat's. His canines were much sharper now and the nails on his hands had come out further and were claw-like.

He spoke with a voice unlike his own. **"Not so tough now are you?"** he asked, his voice more ferocious than before.

Everyone looked at Naruto with confused looks to their faces and even Sasuke seemed confused. _"N-Naruto?"_ Hinata thought to herself as she watched him. She had never really experienced this side of Naruto before.

"Well, he got very cocky." Temari said and folded her arms to her chest.

Naruto ran at Itachi with an impressive speed and started to attack him using just taijutsu. Itachi blocked his attacks and was still able to use the Mangekyo to read his moves. Once catching his fist in a tight grasp he gave a cross look to Naruto. "I'm not Sasuke, your speed means nothing to my Sharingan..." he said and made similiar seals to that Sasuke had made earlier. _"Katon! Gōkaikyū no Jutsu!"_ he said and even though the blast at close proximity would probably damage them both, Itachi seemed to disregard the fact. As the large jet of fire engulfed Naruto, a small explosion was made and the group of ninja watching put their arms up in a shielding manner, but Temari ran up to the front of them and brought out her large fan.

"_Fūsajin no Jutsu!"_ she yelled and using the dust and air currents, she created a barrier in front of the group to sheild them from the small explosion. She looked back to everyone and gave a concerned expression. "Everyone's okay right?" she asked and when she saw all of them nodding, she smiled and returned to watch the battle.

Seeing the smoke clearing to find all three shinobi locked together fiercely in some way. The Kyuubi influenced Naruto was panting and sported some burns, but they were healing quickly with the help of the demon fox. He had his back to Sasuke's, but not in a friendly matter, more of one that was restraining the young Uchiha who had struck Naruto's side with Chidori. Itachi had used Naruto as a sheild for the blow and took both shinobi off guard a moment. Itachi, about to perform another jutsu himself, looked up to the opening ceiling as Ino and the other three that were sent off came in.

"We got them." the Yamanaka kunoichi said and looked up as four jounin came into the scene battle ready.

One of them sported silver hair that spiked out to the side and was rather large in volume. The lower portion of his face was concealed by a mask which he never removed. The forehead protector he bore was usually slanted to cover his left eye, but at the alert that Itachi had shown himself, it was up and revealed a Sharingan eye that was not of his own naturally. Nicknamed the 'Copy ninja' for him copying over one-thousand jutsu's he is a very skilled jounin. Sporting the traditional jounin outfit, leader of squad 7, he is known by Hatake Kakashi.

Another looked very similiar to Rock Lee. He had the same color hair and in that same bowl cut with the thick eyebrows. He also wore a green jumpsuit, but over it he kept the jounin ranked jacket. Having the same problem as Lee, he is unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, but excells greatly in the field of taijutsu. A good guy and the role model of Lee, leader of squad , his name is Might Gai.

A third one had spikey brown hair and a cigarette in his mouth constantly, bore the same outfit as Kakashi. His weapons consisted of brass knuckles with a blade attached to the ends and he was very good with them. Always being beaten by Shikamaru in the game of Shogi, he loves a challenge. He is friendly and pushes his squad to get along and better themselves constantly. He can also be tricky, for example slipping little obstacles in things he does with Shikamaru to show his extreme intelligence. Leader of squad 10, he is Sarutobi Asuma.

Last, but certainly not least, was a young woman who was very suductress-like in appearence. She had wavy black hair that flowed just past her shoulders and came in layers. Her eyes were naturally a crimson color and she was a speacialist in genjutsu usage. She wore a white outfit that had vine like lines running down the large pieces of white fabric that criss-crossed. Wearing a fishnet to cover the small amout of clevage from her outfit to her neck, she wore bandages on both hands up to the elbow and a red sleeve that completely covered her right arm for the exception of her hand. The bandages were also worn on her upper thighs, though only a small amount of it could be seen. Acting as a parent to Hinata after her father said that he did not care what happened to her, she is kind-hearted and cares for her subordinates very much even though coming off as a bit cold. Leader of squad 8, she is Yuhi Kurenai.

Itachi eyed all of the new comers with a flash in his eyes, he knew that he could probably take them, but he was not interested in the moment. Putting down his hand seals and replacing his large straw hat to his head, he looked to Sasuke and Naruto with a small smirk. "You will see me again." he muttered and took off without another word.

Sasuke broke free of Naruto and turned around to face the jounin. "Kakashi...Hmph." he said and folded his arms.

"Sasuke eh? I guess I should have figured if Itachi was here you would have been around." the silver haired ninja said in a laid-back voice, returning the ninja band over his Sharingan eye.

Sasuke watched him and then snarled. "Am I not good enough for you to use that eye on me!?" he yelled to Kakashi and got into another battle position.

Kakashi looked to him crossly. "No, you aren't." he replied simpley and then returned himself to a battle postion. All the jounin were still intent on capturing the young Uchiha.

Naruto, still affected by the Kyuubi's power, attacked an enraged Sasuke from behind. While not being able to dodge the blow, he ignored it and jumped up. "Next time Naruto!" he said and made a gesture as if blowing a kiss and then jumping off and out of the village.

The four jounins relaxed and returned whatever weapon they had out to storage for later use if needed. Everyone stepped back into the ruins of the house and started to talk about the events that had just happened. Hinata though, was more concerned with the state of Naruto. She ran over to him and gave a concerned look.

"Naruto! Are you alright?" she asked him, her voice had a noticeable crack in it as if she was close to tears.

As he returned to normal, he gave her a small smile and a thumbs up, but soon lost his balance and started to fall over.

The young kunoichi gasped and caught him tightly in her arms. Ignoring her shyness for his sake, she put an arm around his waist and slung one of his arms around her shoulders. "I'll get you to the hospital okay?" she said and started to walk.

He nodded and managed a small smile, the wound from Chidori still bleeding openly. "Thanks Hinata..." he said and limped while leaning on her for support. They stopped in front of Ino first before leaving.

"It was a wonderful party at first, I wish that things could have ended differently. Thank you non-the-less and Merry Christmas." Hinata said and bowed her head before taking off quickly again.

Ino looked at them and bit her lip, but then called to her, "He better get there okay!" She watched them leave for a little while and then gave a groan.

"I'm going to be _killed._ What am I supposed to do now?" she said aloud and whining.

Asuma gave a chuckle, bringing another cigarette into his mouth and puffing happily. "We'll all help you rebuild it Ino, don't worry, we will explain everything to your parents. I'm sure they'll understand." he told her and gave a reasurring smile.

Everyone nodded in agreement and started to clean up, except Shikamaru, he raised his hand and looked to all of them lazily. "Not me at the moment. I'm tired and I'm have to escort Temari out of the village." he said and yawned, returning both hands to his pockets. Kiba snickered and the others just tried not to make any remarks.

"Alright you lazyass, I guess this is an actual excuse for getting out of doing something. See ya." Ino said and gave a small smirk to him as the sand kunoichi and the Nara shonobi left the party.

They walked silently and a little awkwardly towards the gates of Konoha and then he stood, not taking a step outside of the village, hands behind his head.

"You'll be able to get home alright?" he asked her, not meeting her eyes.

"When haven't I?" she responded and gave a small smile.

More silence and Temari turned to leave before Shikamaru spoke again.

"I'm sorry, about earlier...I really don't think you are disgusting, but I still do find you troublesome." he told her and sighed.

She smiled. "I know, no need to apologize. Thanks for inviting me to the party though, we should do these kinds of things more often..." she said and looked to him.

He nodded and then looked to her finally. "Merry Christmas Temari." he told her and smiled slightly.

A little awkwardly, she walked up to him and put her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly. He blinked surprised, but slowly returned the hug. Once they pulled apart, she cleared her throat and smirked.

"Don't get too accustomed to that, it's only for special occassions." she told him and put her hands on her hips.

"Yeah..." he said and gave a small blush.

"Well, Merry Christmas lazyass." she said in a joking way and brought up her hand in a farewell to him as she turned around and walked out of the village.

Shikamaru watched her until she was well from his sight and then headed back into the village and back to his house tiredly, even though he didn't do much.

Meanwhile, Naruto was already tucked into a hospital bed and Hinata sat in a wooden chair next to his bedside, tapping her foor nervously. She had a feeling that he would be alright though as he had survived much worst, but she couldn't help to worry about him. Finally, he stirred awake and looked around to her.

"Hey, Hinata, what are you still doing here?" he asked her, sitting up with a little bit of noticeable strain.

Hinata, about to answer was cut off by someone entering the room.

"Hey, relax Naruto. She was concerned about you, would you have ditched her if she was in the same situation?" a female voice came from the door, hands on her hips and smirked as Naruto scowled.

She had blonde hair and a purple diamond on her forehead, her eyes a copper brown in color. She had the appearence of someone in their thrities, perhaps even twenties, even though in reality in her early fifties. Known for her infamously large bosom, she used to be quite flat-chested in her youth and is often teased by a former squad member about that. Deemed the nickname 'The Legendary Sucker' for her gambling addiction and never winning and also being indebted to many people in terms of money, she is also known as Godaime. One of the three legendary Sannin, she become the fifth hokage when the third passed away. Losing her younger brother and her lover at a younger age, she became quite accustomed to drinking Sake. Still, she is a very skilled medical ninja and can attack with amazing strengths. She has the ability to summons snails to her aid during battle. Wearing a green long jacket over her grey outfit which had a blue band around her waist and white shorts. She is accompanied many places by her loyal friend Shizune and has taken a somewhat motherly affection for Naruto as he reminds her of her younger brother. Her name is Tsunade.

"Still, you can leave if you'd like to Hinata, Naruto will be just fine by tomorrow I assume." the copper-eyed sannin said and smiled, placing a hand on the Hyuuga heiress' shoulder and looking down to her kindly.

Hinata nodded and poked her index fingers together, blushing a bit. "I-I-" she started and then Naruto piped up.

"Actually, I'd like Hinata to stay, I don't like staying here alone too much, especially on Christmas." he said and smiled.

Hinata blushed deeper and then nodded. "I'll st-stay then." she told him and then Tsunaded shrugged.

"I suppose that I will get some pillows and a blanket for you then." the sannin said and left the room to come back a few minutes later with the things. "Here, goodnight you two, and Merry Christmas." she said and before leaving she forced Naruto back to laying down and smiled at them.

"Thanks Hinata, for inviting me to the party, for bringing me here, and for staying." Naruto told her in a quiet and tired voice.

"D-Don't mention it Naruto." she said and looked at the floor with a shy smile.

"Goodnight Hinata, Merry Christmas." he said to her with a smile and yawned, reaching his hand over to squeeze hers before falling asleep.

She blushed further at this and, but smiled. "Merry Christmas Naruto..." she whispered and proceeded to fall to sleep as well.


End file.
